Moving With Kids: What NOT To Do!

Moving home is stressful at the best of times. Even when you’re the only one moving, there are loads of things to think about and cause you trouble. Now, moving with kids will multiply that stress by a significant amount. All of a sudden, you have a whole list of additional concerns to add to your plate, making it very hard to move home without having a breakdown. 

Are you expecting to move house soon? If so, here’s what you absolutely should not do when moving with kids:

Move everything by yourself

This is a disaster waiting to happen. If you move everything by yourself, you put yourself under immense physical and mental strain. Think about it, you have to package your belongings, physically carry them downstairs, put them in a car/van, drive them to your new home, deposit them, and possibly repeat the process two or three times. All the while, you have kids to look after! Instead, it’s much easier to just let a moving company take over most of the work. Yes, it’s more expensive, but the benefits definitely outweigh the extra costs. You can be more relaxed and devote your time to looking after the kids during the move. 

Forget to label and organize their stuff

Your kid’s stuff is probably the most important stuff that you’re packing. It makes them happy, and they have things that will make them feel at home in the new place. So, you absolutely do not want to lose anything or spend ages trying to find their favorite toy or teddy bear. As such, you need to carefully pack all of their things in clearly labeled boxes. Put their most-used items at the top of the box, so you can get them out as soon as they’re home. This helps you avoid tantrums and awkward moments where it feels like you have lost their prized possession. Trust me, the stress you can reduce by doing this is massive!

Spring the move on them

Another thing you don’t want to do is spring this move on them. If you tell them that you’re suddenly moving home, it will be a shock to the system. Expect lots of tears, and plenty of attempts to get you to change your mind. Also, they will find it harder to settle if you instantly tell them you’re moving home. The logic behind doing this is that you don’t give your kids time to worry about moving. However, it’s much better to explain the situation weeks in advance. Take them to the new home before you move as well – let them pick their rooms and spend time there. It’ll really help them get used to the idea of moving, and the entire moving process becomes much easier for you to handle. 

On that note, if you had to pick three things not to do when moving with kids, these would be them. Don’t try to do it all by yourself, ensure your kids stuff is packed and ready for quick unpacking, and give your kids time to get used to the concept of moving.